Malas

A Novel

By: Marcela Fuentes

Narrated by: Christine Avila, Victoria Villarreal

Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK

“A vivacious, page-turning novel of rebellion and rebirth.”—Xochitl Gonzalez, New York Times bestselling author of Olga Dies Dreaming and Anita de Monte Laughs Last

A story full of passion and revenge, following one family living on the Texas Mexico border and a curse that reverberates across generations—"Fuentes has achieved something rare and indelible with this story of complex women.” (Erika L. Sánchez)

In 1951, a mysterious old woman confronts Pilar Aguirre in the small border town of La Cienega, Texas. The old woman is sure Pilar stole her husband and, in a heated outburst, lays a curse on Pilar and her family.

More than forty years later, Lulu Muñoz is dodging chaos at every turn: her troubled father’s moods, his rules, her secret life as singer in a punk band, but most of all her upcoming quinceañera. When her beloved grandmother passes away, Lulu finds herself drawn to the glamorous stranger who crashed the funeral and who lives alone and shunned on the edge of town.

Their unexpected kinship picks at the secrets of Lulu’s family’s past. As the quinceañera looms—and we move between these two strong, irascible female voices—one woman must make peace with the past, and one girl pushes to embrace her future.

Rich with cinematic details—from dusty rodeos to the excitement of a Selena concert and the comfort of conjunto ballads played at family gatherings—this memorable debut is a love letter to the Tejano culture and community that sustain both of these women as they discover what family means.

©2024 Marcela Fuentes (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Malas is a machete: sharp, terrifying, and beautiful. Each character feels dynamic, familiar, and so utterly human in their glorious messiness. Fuentes has achieved something rare and indelible with this story of complex women.”—Erika L. Sánchez, New York Times bestseller author of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter and Crying in the Bathroom

“Fuentes’ propulsive plotting; rich and precise depiction of Tejano culture; complex characters; and thoughtful exploration of female anger, grief and intergenerational trauma combine to form a fully immersive reading experience that—for all its specificity—will be compelling and meaningful to readers of all backgrounds. Brimming with brio, Fuentes’ deliciously defiant debut breathes new life into classic lore and heralds the arrival of a bold new literary powerhouse.”—BookPage Starred Review

“Fuentes seamlessly knits familiar history and urban legend with a heartfelt, modern, coming of age story to deliver a vivacious, page-turning novel of rebellion and rebirth. The truth, in the hands of Fuentes lively and beautiful prose, liberates these characters and the reader alike.”—Xochitl Gonzalez, New York Times bestselling author of Olga Dies Dreaming

Vivid characters, stunning prose

Finally, female characters rendered in all their complexity! The women in Malas jump off the page and the sentences quite literally sing. Crank up your fav 90s tunes and dive into this beautiful debut!

Beautiful, bittersweet story, amazing characters!

Loved this book! The setting, the characters, the history, beautiful, bittersweet, love, loss, lies, pain and friendship. Tejano culture comes alive through Lulu’s voice - her own coming of age story - finding her own way with pain and love. Great narration bought this story to life. Highly recommended!

A lost Latina

This book took me back to my youth. Growing up as a Latina in TX. The stories I would here from Mexico. The music from there and here like Selena and more. It’s the book I’ve been waiting to read my whole life!

Great story!

Being a border town girl, there was so much I could relate to. It was an excellent story!

¡No mames!

I've all but given up on debut writers and a lot of the new stuff being published these days. Pero, this book! I'm so glad I didn't skip this one. Malas is beautifully written, a story that wraps you in its clutches from beginning to end. If you enjoy good storytelling, you'll enjoy Malas. The story is the most important thing, yes, there are themes to unpack and great fodder for discussions on family, how far we've come as a country of immigrants, the struggles of being an immigrant, generational trauma, family, music, friendships, but the story remains the most important part of the novel throughout, not any one type of message. Great book for any adult reader.